Don't Call Me 'Love'
by drywitticisms
Summary: Set sometime during 3A. Regina & Killian find themselves on the same side of the hero/villain equation as they look for Henry, and they find that they have more in common than they would like to admit. Mild mentions of past child abuse may be present.


**Although this story is labeled as 'friendship', you can absolutely read this as romantic. In fact, reading this with a romantic spin in mind was my intention if I'm being honest. I'm just putting it out there that you could read their interactions as platonic if you wanted to, but my intent was more so on the romantic side. Which you can tell by some of these things you're going to read in this one-shot.**

 **Either way, I hope you enjoy it! Drop a comment if you like it. Drop a comment if you don't. Either way, I want to hear from you guys. Happy reading!**

* * *

"How long have they been making eyes at each other like that?" He asked with an undisguised look of disgust.

"Long enough to make me want to claw my own eyes out." She replied before turning her back towards the doting couple seated across from them engaging in PDA.

Regina was used to seeing Snow Charming suck face, but this was the first time she'd ever had someone who felt the same way about their public displays of affection like she did. She didn't want to say she felt _relief_ at his words, but she did feel **something** spark in her belly at the idea of her agreeing with Captain Hook on something for the first time in her life. Emma had gone scavenging for more supplies about ten minutes ago and wouldn't be back for awhile leaving Killian Regina alone with the couple who lived in a perpetual honeymoon stage.

Killian glanced over at his new companion before offering his flask to her again. With it just being the two of them, he thought it couldn't hurt to extend an olive branch to her. Regina's nose turned up in disgust as she shook her head at his offer.

"I told you, _pirate_ , I don't do **rum**."

"Your loss." Killian replied with a shrug of his shoulders as he took one long swig of his rum. He barely felt the sting of the alcohol as he swallowed it down his throat anymore. He didn't want to think about what that may mean, because then he'd have to confront demons he wasn't ready to confront yet.

Gingerly, he placed his bottom on a fallen log haphazardly leaning against a tree on the outer perimeter of their campsite. He didn't expect Regina to sit down next to him; in fact, he didn't expect her to sit down at all. In his head, he still saw her as the pretentious daughter of his previous partner-in-crime.

Regina rarely allowed herself to relax, but she blamed her mother for that. Cora Mills was many things, but she wasn't a slouch. Not by any means. If Regina allowed herself to relax and let herself drift away, her mother would come in for the kill taking advantage of Regina's guard being down. It was a survival mechanism that Regina never quite grew out of. But sitting here in the middle of the forest in _Neverland_ , of all places, she found herself wanting to do just that.

She didn't want to give the pirate any ideas, but they were on the same side. She wouldn't readily admit it to him or to anyone else, for that matter, but they were. Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she bent down and swept the dirt away from the fallen long before sitting down.

"Okay, pirate, hit me." Regina replied as she motioned for him to hand over his flask.

Killian's eyebrows rose on his forehead as he mulled over her words before handing over his flask to his new drinking partner. He was surprised that she allowed herself to let loose, but something told him that Regina wasn't always this way. He thought about his own youth, and that young boy was eons away from the man he was today.

He imagined the same went for one Regina Mills.

He watched as Regina's thin fingers wrapped around his silver flash before holding the silver lip up to another pair of full lips. He watched as she took a deep sip of his rum before taking the flask away from her mouth. Waiting on baited breath, he expected a wince or a cough or something that told him that she couldn't take the heat.

But then … nothing happened.

Regina looked down at the flask as if she could see through the metal and shrugged her shoulders carelessly. Killian was amazed. He couldn't believe she was able to drink his rum without flinching. Even the Prince winced when Killian allowed him to take a sip of his rum when Snow wasn't looking. But then again, it was Regina.

She was the type of woman who could handle anything and faced down everything life threw at her with gusto. Killian had a type, so he was more prone to admiring strong women whenever he encountered them on his travels. Regina was no different than the women he usually found himself attracted to.

"Did it hit the spot, love?"

"Yes, and don't call me 'love.'" Regina replied as she took another swig of his rum.

"How are you holding up?" Killian asked surprising both himself and Regina.

Regina's eyebrows shot up to her hairline as she gracefully turned towards him in shock.

"I know, I know. Don't read too much into it; we _are_ here to find your son."

"Are we going to paint each other's nails and braid each other's hair now?" Regina asked flippantly.

"I'm just trying to make conversation; I know how Emma feels, but I want to know how you feel about all this."

Regina studied him for a short while before deciding to answer him. It couldn't hurt, and Henry's abduction was the primary objective. It's only fair that he would ask, right? He did volunteer his ship for them to get here in the first place, so he obviously cares in some way.

"I don't feel .. sad, if that's what you mean. I feel determined. With both my magic and Emma's and your knowledge of this island and the little Brat, I feel like we'll find him in no time. It's going to be a fight, but I'm not worried that we won't get him back."

"That's the most I've heard you say in a long time."

"Don't get any ideas, pirate. You asked, and I told you." Regina replied with a small smirk.

Killian returned her smirk with a smirk of his own as he realized how the moonlight hit the apples of her cheek from this angle. It's almost like the pale moonlight was highlighting every soft angle of her face somehow making her appear angelic. He also couldn't help but take note of her eyes as they fluttered close when she took another sip of his rum. Watching as her curled eyelashes hit her cheek, Killian licked his lips subconsciously.

Before he could say anything to her about drinking all of his rum, a burp sounded between them. His eyes widened as he watched Regina fall into peels of laughter. He was so confused.

Who was this drunken woman struggling to sit up straight next to him? And where did she come from?

"Enough about me and my amazing self. How are you feeling being back here?" Regina asked as she pointed towards him with her index finger. "You have some bad history with the Brat, right?"

Looking down at her finger, he shook his head at her question. "It's not necessarily _**bad**_ , but being here remind me of things I wish to forget."

"I know the feeling. When Miss Swan came to town, I knew who she was as soon as she introduced herself to me. I hated her guts, and then she stayed. What was I supposed to do with Henry's biological mom coming back in town and possibly destroying everything I worked so hard to build?"

"Love, you I know better than most - our thirst for revenge will only end in tragedy. Thinking that getting your vengeance would solve all your problems was your first mistake. You're a lot more intelligent than that, love. It was a short-sighted plan, even if you don't want to admit it."

"What do you know, pirate?!" Regina angrily shot back at him.

"I know enough to know when I've struck a nerve. We have our own history, love. We're a lot alike in many ways, but I'm pretty sure you'd rather die than to agree with me."

Regina's nostrils flared at his assessment as she allowed herself to think about what he said.

He was right.

The drunken pirate was _right_.

Shaking her head at the revelation, she took another long swig of his flask again as she struggled to come to grips with what just happened. Even while she struggled to keep her balance on the fallen log, she was still clear-headed enough to think about what he said.

Taking advantage of the lull in conversation, Killian thought it was a good idea to get his flask back.

"Okay, I think you've had enough, love." Killian said reaching for his flask.

Moving her body out of the way to keep his flask out of his reach, she replied, "No, I think I like the taste of rum now. Oh, and don't call me 'love.'"


End file.
